Rangers Not Showing Well in All-Star Voting

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For the past couple of seasons, the Texas Rangers have had at least one, usually more position players starting the All-Star Game for the American League, whether it was Mike Napoli, Josh Hamilton or Adrian Beltre.

This year should tell a much different story and this might be one of the better Rangers teams over that time as they're on pace for more than 90 wins and are on top of the AL West with the second-best record in the American League behind the Boston Red Sox.

Of course, starting position players are selected by fan voting, and right now, with the voting nearly closed there are no Rangers slated to start the game. Backups are chosen by the players, and the pitching staff is selected by the manager, who this year will be Detroit skipper Jim Leyland.

With Leyland as the team's manager, the AL starter is likely to be undefeated Tigers starter Max Scherzer, or maybe even his Detroit teammate Justin Verlander. Yu Darvish should be selected to the team, but it's unlikely he'll be the AL's starter.

Other than that, it's hard to say who for the Rangers will be in Citi Field for the All-Star Game on July 16.

Of course, Adrian Beltre is almost a sure bet to be an All-Star, if not for his performance on the field then just for his reputation around the league as an all-out player who is well liked. Nelson Cruz is in the top 10 in home runs and RBIs but he doesn't really scream "All-Star."

A.J. Pierzynski might be the Rangers' next best hope as he's hitting nearly .300 and has shown some power at the plate, but players hate him in general, so it's unlikely he'll get voted on by the players. Joe Nathan is a sure thing to be chosen by Leyland after racking up 27 saves so far with just one blown opportunity.